Auckland-based managed service provider Maxnet is set to launch a consultancy arm to its business to cope with increased demand for expertise in the virtualisation and cloud environments.Maxnet Chief Technical Officer Derek Gaeth will be heading up the consultancy business and says there is definitely demand for the service.“It’s something that we’ve been seeing a need for in the market. Maxnet can offer a unique skill set from data center operation right through to virtualisation,” he says. “We don’t think there are people who can offer a holistic view of virtualisation from start to finish.”While consultancy is a service the company has been offering to some partners, the “soft launch” will open up the service to all clients.“What we’re looking to do is provide an end-to-end solution for our clients. People in the market aren’t offering a complete view. What we want to do is look at providing full solutions.”The consultancy will focus on solution design and architecture, with Maxnet offering expertise in a number of areas - from data centers, through to virtualisation options including servers, firewalls and storage, networking and finally, moving to cloud computing.Gaeth says the consultancy will be a side of the business Maxnet intends to grow in the future. But the consultancy side of Maxnet’s business will not have a negative effect on its channel partners.“We’re doing this in support of our partners, not trying to compete. This is something we see in support of our channel partnership.”